Hmm. A rather old story by my estimations, though if the truth were to be told, I would hazard that you're far more experienced of a writer than myself, and that is always a promising thing.

In that vein, I feel this story deserves of a critical review to go with the many accolades it has received from other readers.

The grammar is impeccable, it is quite clear that you have done extensive editing or you have an experienced eye for using the English language. In either case, you've done a marvelous job at keeping this free from improper formatting. In that same vein, I've spotted no spelling errors to this point and I'm rather pleased to see that.

It has been in my experience that numerous quality stories are ruined by poor grammar or numerous errors that could be easily fixed during the editing stage of development, my own included.

It is for that reason that I find this story to be such a treat to find. It is for no love of the FMA series that I deign to give this story a favorite, but rather an appreciation for quality work, which I feel you are more than qualified to provide.

Now to get into things that are not constrained by simple formatting and editing, but rather things that are of a spoiling nature. Any readers thinking to check reviews would be advised to not continue past this point. Simply put, the story deserves a read if one has any appreciation for the FMA series or at the least an appreciation for the characters it presents.
Spoiler Break

With regards to content, I'd like to say that you are using the proper descriptions of an eastern nation. There is an major dependence on order and family in Eastern nations as opposed to West. In that vein, you are handling Lan Fan's situation properly. She is a retainer of the Yao clan, and under most circumstances as marriage between clans is used solely for the purpose of political power. You've avoided that in one of the only ways it is considered truly feasible.

After only recently fighting a civil war to secure the throne, there is no real need to elevate another clan to the throne as they have only recently been pacified. While yes, it could be construed as an insult to marry a low-born wife over the nobility, (and in Eastern cultures and many western cultures where a nobility is shown it IS an insult) the point is rendered moot as The Yao clan has established control over the dynasty and is securing a centralized power as opposed to the fractured feudal system that appears to be in place. This isn't a perfect political situation, but one that can easily be understood.

Needless to say, the move can be easily explained politically and there is a minimal chance of true backlash for this move. When picking a wife for political purposes, it is always prudent to choose from a family that presents the most power to the throne and fractures the state as little as possible. Machiavellian logic would support the claim with heavy evidence, however with the recent pacification of the rival clans and the thinning of the Imperial line, there are few people in a position to claim the throne legitimately and thus an Emperor choosing to marry his bodyguard would not be an unsafe move, when compared to the fact that the only real way to seize power in this scenario is to establish a new dynasty by removing all of the present one, as there is no puppet claimant that can be used to claim the throne or the Mandate of Heaven.

It's a lovely, romantic idea that you propose here (pardon the pun) for Ling and Lan Fan, but ... it just wouldn't happen, for the reasons you actually stated in your own story.

Ling had already had to fight a civil war in Xing to even *become* Emperor, despite bringing his father the Philosopher's Stone. To go against possibly centuries of tradition and marry only one woman - a non-noble at that, he's courting disaster.

I'm not overly familiar with the Asian history that obviously inspired Xing, but I am *quite* familiar with a certain English King who renounced his own title of "Defender of the Faith" and made an enemy of practically every other country in Europe, all because he lusted after a woman who was unsuitable to be his wife. He married her anyway, and it wouldn't be until the Golden reign of his daughter that England would finally have peace.

I'm talking about Henry the Eighth.

Later, one of his distant relatives actually *would* lose the crown of the British Empire for marrying for love - Edward VIII. He was forced to abidicate to marry Wallis Simpson. Yes, they lived a happy life together, but not as King and Queen.

History has taught us that it's only very rarely that the powerful *can* marry for love *and* keep their power. I sadly don't see things as being any different for Ling and Lan Fan.

Such brilliant accuracy of both the characters! There were quite a few lines that had my stomach flopping around in an adolescent way because of how cute and "right" they were.

I absolutely loved Ling's straight-to-the-point speech declaring his simple love for Lan Fan. That's just so him to be up front. Lan Fan's certainly an admirable character for her ability to hold face and be strong during any situation, and even in this simple, fluffy piece, you portrayed her perfectly.

There aren't enough completed works of these two and I'm happy that I stumbled upon yours!

I love 'Orchid Among the Liles'! D So does my friend Rina (whom I share this account with)! It was ssooooo cute! Ling and Lan Fan just make such an awesome couple And we love the part where Ling and Mei were talking and at the mention of Al Mei blushed. I was like "Awh how cute Mei" )